Chapter 6: Shocking Exit

It had been a quiet evening in the mountain village, which was definitely a strong contrast to what had happened earlier in the day. Noca and Holline had helped the latter's grandfather with his shop for a few hours, and Holline's family were more than happy to accept Noca's help and even have him stay at their house that night. Holline was unsure why Noca had decided to stay the night and not return back to his own home. Something didn't seem right with Noca in her eyes, but he didn't give anything up. He wasn't ready.

That night Noca stayed in Holline's room with her, which wasn't unusual for them. It wasn't the first time they had shared a room, and they had even shared a bed in the past. This had prompted questions and teasing from her mother about the two being a couple but neither of them had ever seen their relationship that way. They had known each other and had been friends for a very long time, they were almost like family and that was how they thought of one another. They were like brother and sister; they were best friends. They loved each other.

Despite how close and comfortable they were, Noca chose to sleep on the floor that night in his sleeping bag. In his mind he was saying that it was to get better used to sleeping outside in more uncomfortable situations, but Holline just saw it as the boy being stubborn. Holline even suggested Noca have the bed and she sleep on the floor, believing he needed rest after the tough day. Noca stuck by his decision to stay on the floor. Holline gave up eventually.

Both of them had a long and eventful day so they fell asleep reasonably early. Noca was certain he needed to wake up early the next morning and head off as soon as he could. He just tried to embrace the last comfortable night of sleep he would get for some time. He drifted off to sleep, feeling a twinge of quiet satisfaction.

That satisfying feeling wasn't going to last long.


Noca was laying on the floor. It was cold. Rough. His back ached as he sat up and looked around. He was outside, and strangely enough he was inside his own village. Everything was normal, no damage had been caused. Even his home was still standing. It was strange. He definitely didn't know what to feel. He was just far too confused, and it seemed to mask all other emotions he could be feeling.

He was home in his village, and it looked perfect. He should be feeling happy in that moment.

Noca continued to walk through the village hoping to find something that would explain what was going on. He was drawn to his own home. There was no place he would rather be. He stepped up to the front door and stalled just as he started to reach for the doorknob.

He had no idea what would be inside. What was he going to see? All Noca wanted was to open the door and step in to see his mother smiling at him with her arms open. If this was the only way he could do that again then he had to do it.

He turned the door handle, anxiously, and stepped inside. Everything was normal. Clean. Tidy. Quiet. He moved through the house and looked around.

"Mom?" Noca called out, hoping to hear her soothing voice come back. The only voice he heard was his own as it echoed through the house, through his own mind. But there was no answer. It only fuelled his confusion that much more.

Noca was starting to question why he had been brought back there. He wondered if there was a purpose or reason behind this. He turned around about to step outside of the house and back into the village street, but there was no chance as cracks started to appear in the ground and on the walls, they were on everything. With one big cracking sound the whole world fell apart and shattered, leaving Noca in the dark, empty space. But then there was a flash of red light and flames erupted around the boy.

Noca was surrounded, he could feel the heat, he could touch the flames. They were closing around him and once they did Noca fell back into his village, only this time absolutely everything was on fire. The people were running around frantically, and it seemed as if the flames were chasing after everyone.

All the people were consumed and overwhelmed by the flames and only then did they die away, leaving Noca alone in the charred remains of his former home. Noca collapsed to his knees and pounded the ground, but then something else happened to shock him.

A booming voice vibrated through Noca's head.

"YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL. EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT IS GOING TO PERISH IN THE FLAMES."

"Who are you?" Noca called out, his voice echoing again. The flames flared up again, around Noca, trapping him in a sort of prison. Noca crouched down and tried to cover his head. "Why is this happening to me?"

"LOOK AT THE DESTRUCTION YOU HAVE CAUSED. WATCH EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT DIE."

"Who's left for you to take?!" Noca screamed out, as he looked up into the sky. "You have already taken my mother. I have nothing left."

His head started to burn, and the pain was stabbing right through his skull. He arched over gripping his head again.

"NOTHING? NOT EVEN HOLLINE?"

Noca froze at the mention of his best-friend's name. He looked up slowly and noticed that he had blocked out all of the pain. He glared into the flames as he stood up. A mistake had been made with the mention of her name.

"Show yourself to me. NOW!" Noca screamed in a complete rage. His fists clenched and his eyes focussed.

"HA-HA-HA! I WILL NOT DO THAT. FOR IT IS NOT ME YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT."

With that, a figure stepped through the flames ahead of Noca. It was Omega. Noca's brow furrowed as he stared forward at the man he had only just met. The flames behind him seemed to part some more and there were clearly more people standing behind him, shrouded by darkness. Noca was even more confused as he tried to piece together who all those people could be.

"Who are they and what do they have to do with my life?" Noca yelled out, demanding answers. There was no response and the beings all backed away into the flames. Noca turned around to look for something else in the empty space he occupied, but the flames were too strong. "Come back!"

The flames started to close in around Noca and with a swift movement they engulfed him and Noca was in the darkness. Then another voice spoke.

"Noca…" the voice said softly. It belonged to a woman and Noca instantly recognised it.

"Mom?" Noca muttered in response.

"Noca," the voice said again, sounding more pained and panicked that time.

"Mom, where are you?!" Noca yelled out as he finally fell into the charred remains of his old village again. He was right in front of his own home and looked up. It was still standing, looking pristine.

"Noca, I'm here," His mother's voice said again, still in pain, and almost pleading. Noca rushed forward but before he could set foot in the house it collapsed into a heap. The force of the collapse sent Noca falling back to the ground. He struggled to find any words.

"Why, Noca?" the voice questioned, still sounding very pained. Noca looked around again, still perplexed.

"What?" Noca muttered.

"Why did you let me die?" The voice asked. Noca froze up again and sat still, staring into space, tears filling his eyes. He couldn't find any words. "You failed. You're always going to fail."

Why would his mother be saying those things to him? She had never once thought of her son as a failure, but right now those words were entering his head and it was definitely her voice.

"I… I tried to save you… you told me to leave," Noca said, stuttering as he tried to find a way to justify his actions, but there just wasn't a way.

"You have always been set up for failure," his mother's voice said once more, only this time there was a more sadistic and teasing tone. "You're stalling your own progression and running around with your little friend."

Noca was starting to question the origin of the voice he was hearing because that was certainly nothing like how his mother had ever spoken to him.

"Why is this happening?" Noca muttered to himself as the burning pain returned, engulfing his entire body. Noca tensed up and could feel tears streaming down his face. He screamed out. "Why is this happening?!"

He was losing himself and screamed into the open world as he faded back to black and he was left alone with nothing but his pain. The burning pain was reaching breaking point and with a spark and an explosion…


Noca was jolted awake, sitting up in his bed and he couldn't stop himself from crying out, with a mix of fear, anger, and pain. The sudden sound was enough to shock Holline awake also. She sat up and looked straight to Noca as he sat there, breathing heavily, trying his best to calm himself. Holline jumped down from her bed and moved in front of Noca, trying to get him to look her in the eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" She asked, worrying for her friend. Noca continued to breathe heavily and Holline could see his eyes were red like he had been crying for a long time. There were certainly tears in his eyes, but he didn't seem like he had actually been crying. Holline was confused. Noca didn't look his friend in the eyes, almost as if he didn't realise she was sitting in front of him. She took his hands in hers and tried to catch his attention. "Noca, look at me."

Noca looked to his younger friend and started to calm down a little. His breathing steadied but the pain behind his eyes didn't subside. He looked into Holline's caring eyes. He felt his hands on hers. He looked down at her hands and then back into his friend's eyes. His jaw started to tremble, and his breathing increased again. The tears started to run down his face, and he was finally crying and letting out the stored-up emotions.

Holline didn't understand. She was overwhelmed and blown away by this sudden outburst of emotion and dragged her friend into a tight embrace. Noca had let go and his tears were running as he cried into the red-head's shoulder. Holline couldn't help but get upset also, even though she didn't understand what was going on.

"I failed her, Holline…" Noca muttered, trying to stifle his sobs.

"What do you mean? Who?" Holline asked, pulling Noca back and looking him in the eyes. He seemed to have lost all energy and ability to hold himself up. He was practically swaying on the spot in the bed. Holline didn't press and waited for Noca to speak on his own terms. He was clearly trying to control himself. He sniffled and wiped away tears.

"She's gone…" Noca uttered. Holline still held his hand's in her own and that contact was enough to give Noca the comfort he needed to push the words out. He needed to say it out loud and he needed to tell his friend. She deserved to know. "My Mom…"

Holline gasped as she realised what Noca was trying to say. Noca continued to let out small shuddering breaths as his sadness continued to grow. He knew his friend wouldn't handle the news well. Holline had always been such a close friend of their little family, and vice-versa. The red head tried to keep herself strong for Noca and took a deep breath.

"She's dead," Noca said, half-whispering it and there was sense of understanding in his tone. He hadn't come to terms with what had happened, but he accepted that this was his reality. The dream had really hammered that point home.

"Noca… I… I'm so sorry," Holline said as she dragged her friend into a tight embrace again, allowing him to express all the emotion he had locked up inside. She rubbed his back and did her best to stifle her own sobs so she could keep strong. In truth, it was far too difficult, especially with her lack of experience. They were both so young and this was an intense moment for the two of them.

"I failed her. She's dead because I didn't get there in time," Noca muttered, Holline immediately pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

"No. Don't say that. How is it your fault?" She said. Noca swallowed and looked up to her and he looked angry, but not with Holline. With himself.

"I saw her, in pain. She… she told me to go. She told me to run," Noca said, more to himself than to Holline. He was confused by it. Holline tried to find something to say.

"That doesn't make it your fault. She wanted to protect you, I'm sure…" Holline pleaded with her friend. She really wanted him to think rationally. "You shouldn't blame yourself."

Noca didn't say anymore and sat staring at his own hands. The dream clearly had an effect on him. He had really let the voice and the words of his mother get to him. He couldn't accept that it was only a dream. He was a failure. As far as he was concerned, he was a complete failure and worthless. There was only one thing he could think to do to even try and make it up to his mother and that was to honour her last wish for him to find Son Goku.

"I have to leave. I need to go find Son Goku. That is what she wanted for me," Noca explained. Finally storing the emotion away again and replacing it with a determination. Although, Holline could see that Noca's rage was in primary control. There was something in his eyes that told her it was the anger he held towards himself that fuelled his motivations. She moved closer to him.

"Where is this Son Goku?" Holline asked, trying to be a supporter.

"I don't know. I need to try going West. That's my best chance. At least, that's what #17 said," Noca explained, the conversation becoming a lot more restrained and calmer. Holline didn't like how Noca had stuffed his sadness away so quickly and believed he needed to be embracing it, but she didn't want to force him to do so.

"You can't go now. You should wait until you're in a better state of mind," Holline said, even though she was pleading more so than suggesting. She didn't like the idea of Noca going out there alone and putting himself in danger. Noca moved and stood up.

"I don't have a choice. I don't want to wait around. I need to do what she asked me to," Noca said, looking away from Holline. She had to give it to him, he was certainly devoted to his mother enough to take on-board what she had told him to do, but she still wasn't letting him go out there. At least… not by himself.

Holline stood up.

"I'm coming with you then," She said, letting her own determination take place. Noca turned around swiftly.

"No. I don't want that for you," Noca responded, clearly getting defensive.

"Too bad. It's what I want," She said, stepping towards Noca and showing she was utterly serious. Noca shook his head.

"I won't let you," Noca said, but that wasn't something Holline took kindly to. She couldn't let someone hold her back or act like she couldn't do something.

"Why? Because I'm a girl? Because I'm younger than you?" Holline said, taking slight offense, but trying to show that she was confident and strong enough to push through.

"I don't want to be responsible for you getting hurt…" Noca muttered. Holline was ready to retort but he stopped herself. Noca looked away again. "I had a dream. A nightmare. My mother told me I failed her and… someone made it clear they could hurt you."

"It was dream," Holline said, a slightly questioning tone in her voice. She couldn't deny that it was a little scary to think Noca had seen that. Noca shook his head. Holline stepped forward, took a hold of his arm, and pulled in, placing her head on his shoulder. "I'm coming with you. You can't say no."

Noca sighed and gave up. He wasn't sure he had the fight in him to argue with her. As things stood, she was basically all he had left and wanted desperately to protect her from danger. He was terrified, but she was always a comforting voice. Like his mother.

"We should get some sleep. Talk about it in the morning," Holline said as she moved back to her own bed. Noca remained standing for a minute before slowly getting back into the bed he had made-up on the floor beside Holline's bed. She watched him as he turned around to get some sleep and now that they were in silence, in the dark, she couldn't stop the tears that flooded her eyes. Emna had been like an Aunt, or a second mother, to Holline. This was a big loss for her as well. She turned away to face her wall and quietly sobbed into her pillow.

Noca's Saiyan hearing was strong, and he could hear her sobs.


Wednesday 20th September Age 791

Noca had a very restless sleep. He didn't feel rested. His head was pounding. As the Saiyan sat up in the bed he turned to look over to his friend. She was still asleep. Noca sat and watched her for a minute before slowly moving and getting out of bed. He changed into some ordinary clothes. Deciding not to wear the Gi that had belonged to his grandfather. Once he was dressed, he went downstairs, managing to avoid bumping into any of Holline's family, and he was out of the house and on the street. He looked around and saw people setting up for their day. The stores were opening, there was a man with a vegetable stall. Noca looked into the village then looked towards the path that led back into the mountains.

He gave a small glance back to Holline's house and started to walk along the path.

Back in the bedroom, Holline shifted and finally woke up. It was reasonably early, around 7am. Holline sat up out of her bed and looked down to the floor, almost forgetting that Noca had stayed with her that night. Soon everything came back, and she noticed he wasn't there. She frantically jumped out of her bed, grabbed her dressing-gown and went to rush down the stairs but noticed something by her wardrobe. Noca's backpack. He didn't take it with him. She rushed down the stairs and out into the street. She looked up and down the paths but couldn't tell where he went.

"Holline!" A voice called from behind. Holline turned around to see her mother standing in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

The brunette woman stood there, hands on her hips, and she was dressed ready for a working day. She ran the stall that sold some of produce that came from the family's farm, which was run by Holline's grandfather. Holline looked down, noticing she had rushed into the street in her pyjamas and dressing-gown. She laughed nervously and walked back into the house.

"Sorry Mom, did you see Noca leave?" Holline asked. Her mother could see the concern. She shook her head.

"No. He must have gone out early," the woman said, she seemed very at ease about the situation and didn't understand why Holline was worried. "He probably needed to get home early."

Holline shook her head and rushed upstairs to get dressed properly. Her mother just stood on the spot, a little bewildered. She waited for Holline to come back down the stairs and when the red-headed girl did she was carrying Noca's bag with her.

"He left his backpack, I need to go find him," Holline said, but as she attempted to rush off again her mother grabbed her back.

"Wait, what's going on? Explain." She said, sternly. Holline stopped and sighed. She proceeded to tell her mother what Noca had told her the previous night. At least, everything apart from the journey to find Son Goku. Holline's mother did wonder why Noca had decided to come back here the very next day and why he was with a strange man. Holline didn't have anything to say to that. Well, she did. She just didn't want to bring up how she was planning to go with Noca. Once Holline had finished explaining her mother understood why she needed to go and find Noca and allowed her daughter to go.

Holline was rushing up the path towards the village exit when she saw someone walking back into the village. It was Noca. Holline stopped for a second and then walked to him, a concerned and annoyed look on her face.

"Where did you go?" Holline called out as she walked up to him. Noca was surprised, he had not seen Holline initially and stepped back upon seeing the fierce girl appear in front of him. Noca started to stammer and stutter, unable to get his explanation out. "Well?"

"I just had to scout ahead. Find a good route. A safe route," Noca explained. Holline knew it sounded reasonable, but she didn't trust him. "Plus, I left my backpack with you, so you'd know I was coming back."

Holline looked at the bag and realised it made sense and she had just jumped the gun. She sighed and chuckled to herself.

"I thought you were leaving without me," She said.

"I was going to," Noca said, honestly. Holline looked up, feeling a little betrayed. "But I also realised it wasn't up to me what you do."

Holline perked up and felt like her friend was truly putting his trust in her.

"You need to tell your Mom first," Noca's follow-up seemed to shatter Holline's perception of the situation. She had completely forgotten how her mother would react. Noca walked past her back to the house. "Maybe we should go ask her."

Holline was practically frozen on the spot as she thought of the tough task ahead of her. She needed to persuade her mother to let her go walking out into the mountains with nothing but her best friend. Two pre-teens. Out in the dangerous mountains. On their own. Yeah, good luck.

Holline's mother was at the farm collecting supplies to take back to their stall, with Holline's grandfather there helping with some of the organisation. He was getting old so he couldn't do as much of the hard-work and labour like he used to, but luckily enough he had employed a few younger men and women to help out, and some of the teens in the village would help out for a small amount of money.

Holline's mother stopped moving boxes when she noticed that her daughter was walking up the path with Noca. Holline was nervous as she stepped up to them both. Holline's family were happy to see that Noca was ok, but now they both knew what had happened and Noca could sense the slight awkwardness in the air. He could tell that Holline had told her mother. He wasn't angry or upset. He understood that Holline's family would need to know details, and again, like Holline, they deserved to know. Holline's and Noca's mothers had been friends too.

The woman stepped up to Noca and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she said, softly. Noca nodded, continuing to try and keep his emotions stuffed away. He wanted to keep his mind focussed on the journey ahead. Holline's mother took Noca into an embrace which Noca reciprocated. Holline cleared her throat.

"Mom, I need to ask you something," the girl said, nervously. The mother backed up and looked to her daughter.

"What is it, sweetie?" The woman asked. Holline looked to Noca but the boy gave nothing away. She sighed and looked back to her mother.

"Noca needs to go West, towards the cities, he has something he needs to do, and I want to go with him," Holline said, finding her confidence. Noca had hoped she would change her mind, but he wasn't going to protest anymore. He just had to hope that her mother wouldn't allow it.

"What? Noca, is that true?" the woman asked, turning to the Saiyan. Noca's eyes went wide. He didn't expect he would have to say anything. He cleared his throat.

"Yes. My mother told me to find a man, Son Goku, he's like me," Noca said, trying not to give everything away. The woman looked back to her daughter. She understood Noca's origin was different and accepted it. With his mother gone, that meant Noca had no one else like him to help him. He needed to find someone like him. It made sense to her. The woman turned to face her daughter again.

"You can't go with him," She told her daughter. Holline's anticipation for the journey was completely dashed and she started to sulk. She was about to protest but her mother continued. "I wish I could stop Noca too, but he's not my son. You're my daughter, and I don't want you putting yourself in danger."

"Oh, a little adventure never hurt anybody," an older voice said. All three turned to face Holline's grandfather as he walked over with a smile. He stopped next to Holline and put his hand on her head. "She's a smart girl. She won't get into trouble."

The mother looked at her father with a concerned expression.

"You're such a bad influence on her," She said, but the old man just chuckled. Holline laughed with her grandfather and smiled back to her mother. The woman looked over to Noca who just looked away nervously. He understood it was a family decision. The mother looked at her daughter and saw that she really wanted this. "Why do you want to go?"

"I…" Holline started but couldn't find her reasoning right away. Then she looked over to Noca and remembered his state from the previous night and how that having her to vent to and to comfort him had been a great help. Holline stood strong and stepped forward again. "I want to be there for Noca. I don't want him to do this alone. I won't let him do this alone."

Noca looked over and started to understand that his friend was just trying to be supportive. This wasn't a fun trip for her, this was something that she felt she had to do. Her mother looked to Noca again.

"Do you want her to go with you?" She asked Noca. The Saiyan swallowed nervously. And breathed deeply.

"Yes," Noca answered. Holline perked up with the response and rushed over to her friend, hugging him. Noca chuckled nervously.

"Will you protect her?" The grandfather asked, a serious expression plastered on his face now, which was weird in comparison to the easy-going nature he had before. Noca nodded.

"With everything I have. I would never let harm come to her," Noca said, a newfound determination growing within him. He continued to blame himself for his mother's death and to make up with that he would make sure nobody dies because of him ever again. He would put his own life on the line to ensure he could protect everyone. Holline's mother nodded and smiled.

"Then yes, you can go with him," she said, Holline practically jumped and squealed with glee, but her mother continued. "But you are to make sure you take enough supplies and stop by in the other towns and villages along the way to rest properly. And if things get difficult you come right back here, both of you."

Holline's grandfather started to laugh and cheer for his granddaughter.

"Oh, adventure is so fun. I remember when I went exploring as a young man, there's nothing quite like it, kids," He said to them both. Holline laughed along and Noca smiled awkwardly. Holline's mother didn't take her eyes off of the boy, she could tell he was hiding his pain. He lost the only real family he had, and he seemed reasonably calm. Noca noticed she was looking at him. She just smiled weakly and nodded to him. Noca looked back to Holline. He needed to remain focussed.

Through the rest of the morning and up to about 1pm Holline was packing a bag to take with her and was given some money to grab extra things if needed along the way. That was something the two would need to think about as they went along. Noca had some money that had been given to him by the elder of his village and it was what little savings his mother had left. It probably wouldn't be enough, but he would have to keep an eye on it and budget accordingly.

Noca was determined to get on the road as soon as they could, but Holline's mother was finding it very hard to let her only child leave. Holline assured her that Noca would protect her and that she would be safe, and that she would return. Noca made sure to make it clear that he would stand by his friend the entire way. There was nothing left to be said as Holline said goodbye for now and then set off on the journey with her best friend.

A big journey lay ahead of them both.


Characters Seen/Mentioned in this Chapter:

Noca (OC)
Holline (OC)
Holline's Grandfather (OC)
Holline's Mother (OC)
Emna (OC)
Omega (OC)
Son Goku - Mentioned
Android #17 - Mentioned